October 2003

HINDS’ FEET IN HIGH PLACES

Part 15

“He makes my feet like hinds’ feet,
and sets me on my high places!”
(2 Sa 22:34)

           Our last sharing showed how successive Israelite kings “did right in the sight of the Lord” and yet none of them “destroyed the high places” on which their people offered sacrifices to idols! Their outward conduct may have satisfied God’s Law, but their inward concept of and devotion to “ONE TRUE GOD” was ill-defined and inconclusive, so long as those high places remained! But then the Lord raised up Hezekiah [Heb 2396 “strengthened by Jah”] as the first king who not only “did right in the sight of the Lord”, but he made a complete work of “destroying the high places, breaking its images, toppling its Asherah-groves, and smashing the brass serpent Moses made!” (2 Kgs 18:4) So then Israel “lived happily ever after” and kept doing right in the sight of the Lord, correct? No, sadly, Hezekiah’s successor- his 12 year old son, Manasseh- inherited his throne, and over the next 55 years, he “did evil in the sight of the Lord- even the abominations of the heathens whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel! He “rebuilt the high places Hezekiah, his father, had destroyed! He erected altars to Baal, made an Asherah-grove like Ahab the former king of Israel did; he worshipped all the stars of heaven and served them (like astrologers today); he built altars to idols in the House of the Lord...and worst of all, sacrificed his own son by fire!” (2 Kgs 21:1-6) Manasseh performed more unthinkable deeds, even shedding more innocent blood during his reign; but we these evil accounts will suffice for the purpose of this lesson. Evil reigned for two years more after Manasseh’s death when his son, Amon, inherited his throne and continued doing “evil in the sight of the Lord”! Moreover “He forsook the Lord God of his forefathers, and did not walk in the way of the Lord! But then Amon’s servants conspired and killed Amon in his own house! After that, the people of Israel rose up and slew the scheming servants; and raised up Amon’s son, Josiah [Heb 2977 “founded of Jah”] who did right in the sight of the Lord; and who walked in the way of his forefather, David, and did not ever turn aside to the left or to the right!” (2 Kgs 21:18-24; 22:2-4) Once again, an anointed one of God made a complete work of separating Israel from the heathen practices of this world, to do right in the sight of the ONLY TRUE GOD!

“King Josiah sent for and assembled all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.
He and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem went up
into the House of the Lord; together with the priests and prophets and all
the people, both small and great. And there he read, in their hearing, all
the Words of the Book of the Covenant that they found in the Lord’s house.
The king stood by a pillar and made a Covenant before the Lord that they
would all walk after the Lord and keep all of His commandments and all
His testimonies and statutes with all of their heart and soul; and that they
would perform the Words of the Covenant that were written in this Book.
So all the people stood in agreement with the Covenant.
Then the king gave a command to Hilkiah the high priest, as well as the
priests in second rank, and the keepers of the temple door, to remove from
the temple of the Lord all the idols that had been made for Baal and for the
grove, and for all the stars of heaven! He burned them outside Jerusalem
in the field of Kidron, then he carried their ashes to Bethel. And while there
he deposed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to
burn incense in the high places in the Judean cities and in the areas around
Jerusalem! He also deposed those who burned incense to Baal, or to the sun,
moon, planets, and all the host of heaven! He also removed the Asherah idol
from the house of the Lord; carried it outside Jerusalem and burned it by the
Kidron brook where he stamped its ashes as small as powder and cast that
powder upon the graves of the common people who had worshipped there.
He also broke down the houses of the sodomites by the House of the Lord,
where the women had woven hangings for the grove.
Then Josiah brought all the offending priests out of the cities of Judah and
destroyed the high places where they had burned incense- all the way from
Geba to Beer-sheba! He also tore down the high places of the gates, both
at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, the governor of the city, and the one
on the left at the gate of the city. The priests of these high places were not
allowed to go up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they did eat of
the unleavened bread among their brethren.
Josiah then destroyed Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of
Hinnom, so that no man could ever again sacrifice by fire his son or his
daughter as an offering to Molech. He also took away the horses which
the kings of Judah had offered up to the sun at the entrance of the House
of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, that was
in the area, and burned with fire those chariots dedicated to the sun. And
he destroyed the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz,
which the kings of Judah had made! King Josiah beat down the altars of
Manasseh in the two courts of the House of the Lord! He tore them down
from there and cast the dust of them into the Kidron brook.
He also destroyed the high places in front of Jerusalem on the right side
of the mount of corruption which King Solomon of Israel had erected for
Ashtoreth- abomination of the Zidonians, for Chemosh- abomination of
the Moabites, and for Milcom- abomination of the children of Ammon!
And the king broke in pieces all their images, and cut down their groves,
and filled their places with the bones of men!!
Moreover he tore down the altarat Bethel, as well as the high place that
Jeroboam the son of Nebat had made, forcing Israel to sin. He destroyed
both that altar and the high place, and burned the high place, stamping it
to small powder, and burning the grove. Then Josiah turned and saw the
sepulchres in the mount, so he had the bones taken out of those sepulchres
and burned them on their altars, thereby polluting them, according to the
Word of the Lord which the man of God had proclaimed, who prophesied
these Words!
Then he said, What monument is that that I see? And the men of the city
told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God who came from Judah and
prophesied all the things you have done against the altars of Bethel. Thus
Josiah said, Let him be! let no man move his bones. So they left his bones
alone, along with the bones of the prophet that had come out of Samaria.
And also Josiah took away all the houses of the high places in the cities
of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made that provoked the Lord to
anger, and he did to them according to all the acts he had done in Bethel.
And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there on the altars,
and he burned men's bones on them, and then returned to Jerusalem.
And the king commanded all the people, Keep the passover to the Lord
your God, as it is written in the Book of this Covenant. Surely there was
not held such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel,
nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah; like
this passover that was offered to the Lord in Jerusalem in the 18th year
of king Josiah.
Furthermore Josiah sent away all the workers with familiar spirits and
all the wizards and all the images and idols, and all the abominations that
were found in the lands of Judah and Jerusalem, so that he might perform
the Words of the Law as were written in the Book which Hilkiah, the priest,
had found in the House of the Lord!
Thus no king like Josiah ever preceded him, who turned to the Lord with
all his heart, and all his soul, and all his might, according to all the Law of
Moses; neither did any king like him arise in Israel after him!
Nevertheless, the Lord did not turn from the fierceness of his great wrath,
for his anger was still kindled against Judah because of all the provocations
with which Manasseh had provoked him. Therefore the Lord said, I shall
remove Judah from My sight, just as I have removed Israel, and I will also
cast off this city, Jerusalem, which I have chosen, and this House of which
I said, My name shall be there!!” (2 Kgs 23:1-27)

         These are hard words, beloved. But sin and death are cruel taskmasters that lead every soul away from the Lord God, to seek after false idols! Such abominations must be dealt with severely! Look again closely at how thorough was Josiah’s cleansing of God’s House and land! This is the work being done in our lives at present. Indeed such disciplines seem harsh and terrifying betimes, but we must remember that they are ordained by the LOVING HAND OF A PERFECT GOD! Selah!! (Pause and calmly think of all this!)

[TO BE CONTINUED]